The Presidency has dismissed claims that an image circulating online of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Paris was generated using artificial intelligence.
The clarification follows widespread speculation on social media after the photograph went viral on Sunday, with some observers pointing to a visible Grok watermark as evidence that the image was created by AI. Grok is a generative AI tool developed by Elon Musk’s company, xAI.
The controversy emerged shortly after the meeting was first announced by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who shared details of the engagement on his Facebook page.
Responding to the claims on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, described the allegations as misleading and inaccurate. He insisted that the image was genuine and captured during a real meeting between both leaders in Paris.
According to Ajayi, President Tinubu and President Kagame met on Sunday and had lunch together before later joining French President Emmanuel Macron for dinner the same evening. He explained that the photograph in question was taken with a mobile phone and initially had poor visual quality.
Ajayi said the photographer later used Grok only to enhance the clarity of the image, stressing that this did not mean the picture itself was artificially generated. He added that improving image quality with digital tools should not be confused with fabricating an image.
He criticised reports and social media commentary suggesting otherwise, noting that such conclusions were reached without proper verification. The Presidency maintained that the meeting took place as reported and that the image accurately reflects the encounter between the two African leaders.
